Always Okay (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
by ilna
Summary: The Allens face some troubling news as a family.


**Notes: **Huge thanks to Mari and Sammy for their brainstorming help and their incredible feedback.

Readers and REAL McRollers - Thank you for your amazing support! It is always appreciated.

**Hope you enjoy!**

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_Always Okay (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)_

"Hey, Mom," Cody said as he let himself in the front door of their house and spotted Jenna at the counter in the kitchen. He closed the door behind him and made his way across the small living room, chuckling to himself. "You are not gonna believe what I saw on the way home. There was this guy wearing a bright red–" He stopped when he realized she hadn't acknowledged him or even moved, a wet cloth in her hand still on the countertop. "Mom?" he said again, stepping into the kitchen doorway. "Mom, are you okay?"

She started, hand flying to her chest in surprise as she turned toward him. "Oh, Cody. I didn't hear you come in."

He glanced over his shoulder toward the door where he'd noisily entered moments ago and looked back at her in concern.

"I mean, I didn't expect you home yet," she amended. "I thought you were picking up the gang from the Boys and Girls Club after you finished work."

"No, Casey's getting them today," he said slowly, lowering his bag to the floor, his brow furrowing deeper that his normally very organized mother didn't remember that fact.

She closed her eyes. "Oh, that's right. That's right. We talked about that this morning."

"What's wrong, Mom?" he asked, his worry evident in his voice as he stepped closer. "What happened? Is it him? Did he–"

"No no no," she said immediately, holding out a hand in a calming gesture. "Nothing to do with Jason."

Cody let out his breath in relief that his deadbeat father wasn't the cause of whatever was going on, but the tension in his body remained as he moved closer. "But something _did_ happen?"

Jenna sighed. "I got some news today … something that I … I wasn't expecting."

He swallowed thickly, searching her face for a clue. He noticed the part of her hair was askew, a sure sign she'd been running her fingers through it repeatedly which she only did when she was upset. "What, Mom? Tell me."

She sighed again and dropped the cloth in the sink, motioning him toward the living room. "Let's sit down."

He shifted sideways, waiting for her to lead the way to the couch, then sat down tentatively next to her.

She put her hand on his between them and looked at him steadily, taking a deep breath. "Dr. Davenport announced today that he's closing the practice. His daughter is having a baby, and he and his wife have decided to move to the mainland to be closer to her and their first grandchild."

Cody's eyes widened. " 'Closing the …' " he repeated slowly. He shook his head. "But that means …"

She nodded. "That means I'll be out of a job at the end of July, along with the rest of the staff."

"_July_?"

"July."

"But … but … that's next _month_," he said, incredulous.

"I know. It was … a shock when he told me today. I've kind of been in a daze ever since. We're telling the rest of the staff tomorrow. I don't know how everyone is going to react. He didn't plan for it to happen so fast, but he already got an offer for the building and apparently they want to move quickly."

"Is it another dentist?" Cody asked hopefully. "Do they need an office manager?"

She sighed, smiling weakly. "I wish. Apparently it's an architecture firm. He says they're mainly interested in the location. He doesn't even think they'll keep the existing building. They'll probably knock it down before the end of summer and design something totally new, which … I guess makes sense for them."

Cody looked down, brow knitting as his thoughts raced. "Okay …" he began. "Okay, I … I can get another job. Jadon says McDonalds is always hiring, or maybe–"

"Cody, you already have the governor's office and Food Land, you can't take a third job on top of UH classes in the fall."

He shook his head, looking at her. "I meant … instead of UH," he said haltingly, knowing her reaction.

"No," she said instantly. "Absolutely not."

"But, Mom–"

"No, Cody. You are not dropping out of school."

"It's not really dropping out," he said. "I got my Associate's …"

"And you're going to get your Bachelor's, too," she said firmly. "This is important, Cody. You've worked too hard to stop now."

"But if you don't have a job–"

"I'll find another job, Cody. The office isn't closing until the end of July. That's plenty of time," she said, but he could hear the anxiety in her voice.

"That's in a month, Mom …" he said quietly.

"I know it is," she said, running her fingers through her hair.

"What if you don't find one by then? What if–"

"We have a little money saved," she said. "Not a lot, but enough to pay the bills for a couple months. Plus Dr. Davenport is planning to give us all a severance check since this is happening so suddenly." She put her hand on his arm and squeezed. "We're going to be okay, honey. We are."

Voices outside alerted them to the arrival of the rest of their family just seconds before the front door opened.

"Mom! Guess what? There was a real DJ at the Boys and Girls Club today with this speaker and it had lights coming out of it and everything!" Jacob exclaimed, tossing his bag to the floor as he entered ahead of his siblings.

"Wow," Jenna said, trying to smile brightly. "Really?"

"Yeah, it was really cool," Dylan agreed. "He let us check out his equipment."

"Uh oh, do we have some future DJs in the house?" Jenna teased, her smile still not reaching her eyes.

"What's going on?" Kaitlyn asked, looking between her mom and eldest brother.

Jenna shook her head. "What do you–"

"It's dinner time and you guys are sitting together on the couch," Casey said, motioning to them. "Cody's staring at the carpet like he doesn't want to make eye contact. His bag is on the floor over there instead of in his room. Something's going on."

She, Kaitlyn, Dylan, and Jacob all stared at the two of them, waiting for an explanation.

Jenna sighed, looking at Cody, resignation in her eyes. He gave a little nod, straightening. Jenna turned back to her younger kids and held out a hand. "Come over here, you four. I need to tell you something."

Cody scooted over to the far side of the couch and Jenna pulled Jacob between them once he was close enough. Jacob looked back and forth between them nervously. Jenna patted the cushion beside her, indicating Kaitlyn should sit as Casey hesitantly lowered herself into the armchair, never taking her eyes off of her mom and brother, and Dylan hovered next to her anxiously.

"Now, I'm not telling you this to worry you," Jenna began. "Everything is going to be okay. _We_ are going to be okay. We've been through worse and gotten through together."

"Mom?" Kaitlyn asked, her voice quivering. Tears filled her eyes.

Jenna grasped her hand. "It's okay, honey," she said reassuringly. She looked around at all of them. "But I do have some news that's going to affect us all. My boss, Dr. Davenport, is closing the dentist's office at the end of July, so I'm going to have to find a new job."

"A new job?" Jacob asked. "Like at another dentist's office?"

"Probably," Jenna said. "Or a doctor's office, maybe. Those are similar so I could probably do that, too."

"But you don't know where yet?" Kaitlyn asked.

"No, I just found out today."

"Sometimes … sometimes it can take a while to find a new job," Casey said. "My friend Ada's dad got laid off months ago and he's still trying to find a new job."

Cody looked at Jenna who took a breath and tried to smile. "That is true," she admitted. "Sometimes it takes a while, but sometimes it doesn't. And either way, there are things we can do in the meantime."

"I'm already picking up extra shifts at Food Land now that school is out," Casey said.

Jenna shook her head. "Oh, honey, that's not what I–"

"I don't have to keep going to the Boys and Girls Club," Dylan said, speaking for the first time. "Maybe I could do, like, yardwork or something for people in the neighborhood."

"Dylan–"

"I'm old enough to babysit," Kaitlyn said. "At least during the day. And I know we were going to give our change jar money to Aunt Elizabeth's afterschool program again, but … I think she'd understand if we needed it …"

"Oh, Kaitlyn …"

"There's our lucky two dollar bills from Grandma Ang," Jacob said. He bit his lip, then continued slowly. "And … there's the money we've been saving for New Jersey …"

Jenna grabbed his hand, still holding Kaitlyn's in her other, and squeezed them both. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves," she said. She smiled softly at each of her children in turn, blinking at the tears in her eyes. "You all … you just amaze me, you know that? That you would all offer …" She shook her head, catching Cody's eyes last. "I have the most selfless family in the whole world, do you know that?"

Pausing, she inhaled deeply, smiling through her tears and squeezing Jacob and Kaitlyn's hands again. "A month is a long time, and we have a lot of options. More than we've ever had before. Most importantly, we have each other. Things might get a little tight for a bit, but … that just means more Hamburger Helper for a while, right?" she teased, trying to lighten the moment.

"I love Hamburger Helper!" Jacob said, eyes widening with a touch of excitement.

Cody chuckled, ruffling his hair. "Jake …"

Jacob looked between them and back at Jenna. "No, Mom, I really do."

She smiled fondly, wrapping an arm around him. "I know you do, honey." She wrapped her other arm around Kaitlyn. "And I'm sure we can find some inexpensive vegetarian versions, too."

Kaitlyn hugged her, looking up at her with a watery smile.

Patting Cody's arm on Jacob's other side, Jenna motioned her head to Casey and Dylan, beckoning them closer. "We're going to be okay," she said firmly, keeping her arm around Kaitlyn and taking Casey's hand while smiling reassuringly at Dylan. "I may not know exactly what the future holds, but as long as we stick together, I know that we are always going to be okay."

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